Awareness on rights of older adults, attitudes and perception toward ageism among college students in coastal Karnataka: A cross-sectional study

<h2>Abstract</h2><h3>Introduction</h3> Ageism is a phenomenon occurring rapidly worldwide and has led stakeholders to consider strategies that can be planned for the welfare of elderly individuals. Policymakers, healthcare sector leaders, and leaders must take rapid steps to improve elderly care because of the predicted increase in the elderly population. For that reason, the first is always the baseline assessment of the scenario at hand; hence, the present study intends to assess the level of awareness among the young generation regarding the rights of the elderly and their attitudes toward and perceptions of ageism. <h3>Methods</h3> A cross-sectional study was conducted with 700 students. Jamovi version 2.3 was used to analyse the data. <h3>Results</h3> The study results revealed that college students' level of awareness of the rights of the elderly was poor (10.5±2.688), yet they had positive attitudes (73.64±8.315) and favourable perceptions (56.31±6.914) toward ageism. The study revealed a weak negative correlation between awareness of the rights of elderly people and attitudes toward ageism (<i>r = -0.178, p=0.01</i>) and perception toward ageism (<i>r = -0.108, p=0.01</i>). <h3>Conclusion</h3> Even though awareness of the rights of the elderly was poor among college students, their attitudes toward and perceptions of ageism were positive and favourable.